Home of Travis Robeson, photograph by Bjorn Wallander for Country Living

Design by EddieRoss, photograph by James Merrell for Country Living

First, read my disclaimer: here

Our summer was pretty crazy with selling and moving, etc.  But somewhere in there we threw together birthday parties for our wonderful kiddos. (Full disclosure: we had M’s birthday over a month late because his birthday fell right when we were moving.  But he’s three - he doesn’t care.)

Now I’m not someone who goes crazy over birthday parties.  I want to do something special and fun for the child.  I want the family to have fun (right now our kids only have family - grandparents, aunts, uncles and great grandparents attend.  Since we have SO much family here there’s not really room for friends yet).  But I’m not into killing myself over a party OR spending a ton of money OR feeling competitive over giving the best party.  Let’s just state that right now.

(I always coordinate my kids’ clothes with the colour scheme or theme… is that weird?)

(Yes.)

But as I was preparing for L’s party back in July I was thinking of Little M’s first birthday - what a hectic, harried, stressful experience that was for me!  I wanted to do a million things and felt like I could barely do the basics.  For Baby L’s party I was feeling much more calm.  Perhaps my expectations were a bit lower, or more realistic.  But I also think I’ve learned a few things.  I’m no veteran, but I thought I could share some ideas in regards to decorating.  With that though, I want to stress:

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES, AND WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU.

I am not a baker.  And I discovered last year when making Little M’s tractor cake, that icing is not my artistic medium of choice.  As I tried in vain to get the not-quite-red-enough icing gobbed all over the [second] tractor-shaped cake I’d baked, I muttered “Only DQ ice cream cakes from now on.”

And that’s OK.  Why should I kill myself to make a fancy cake because that’s what I think a mom is supposed to do?  This year for L’s party I made cupcakes.  From a mix.  And used store-bought icing that I tinted with food colouring.  I jazzed them up with some rose-shaped candies.  And done.  They were pretty and tasty, and nobody cared about how I made them.  Another year I probably will pick up an ice cream cake.  

(You can see my Starburst rose tutorial here.)

Maybe to you it’s important to make a cake from scratch using organic spelt flour and agave nectar.  All the power to you.  Maybe you looooove all the fun icing tools and want to create a masterpiece storybook castle cake.  Cool.  Do it.  But remember you’ll have to let go on some of the other details.

Decorating is my thing, though.  I enjoy it.  I have quite a bit of experience with event decorating (especially for kids) so I go for it.  But I wouldn’t expect everyone else to go crazy over this too.  And if it’s not your thing, then don’t think you have to go crazy just because of the insane stuff you saw on Pinterest, or at a neighbour’s party.

However, if you want a bit of help with decorating, here are some tips…

1. WORK FROM A THEME.

(I made a bunch of the paper rockets and strung some on a banner and taped up the others wherever we needed something.)

Particularly with kids, themes are great.  They are a starting point for ideas.  Micah’s party was very clearly Buzz Lightyear-themed (he wanted to include Dr. Gru and Minions too, but I did ask him to reign it in a bit and just stick to Buzz).  Kids his age usually obsess over something, so a theme should be pretty easy to pick out.  For L’s party the theme was more subtle - inspired by tea roses.

A theme can give you some direction: 

• a colour scheme
• activity ideas
• menu ideas (for M’s party we had pizza, as in “Pizza Planet” from Toy Story, and for L’s we served Shirley Temple drinks, because they had all the right colours.)
• and it also gives you a search term when you’re googling or pinning party ideas.

2. ASK YOURSELF: WHAT WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK/MONEY?

This one is huge.  Consider - what will people see first?  What will they see most?  Will this detail be covered up once a room is full of people?

(You can customize your banner by cutting the letters out of paper and using scotch tape to attach them to a ribbon or string.)

You know what a fool proof answer is?  Balloons.  Every time.  I used to joke when I ran our weekly kids club at church that all we had to do was add balloons and the kids would consider it a party.  Seriously - some years for our wind-up or Christmas party I kept the schedule for the evening exactly the same and just added a snack and balloons and kids were SO stoked about the awesome party.  Hah.  Just make sure you have lots of balloons and stick to a colour scheme.  Generally the more balloons, the bigger the impact.  Simple.

But also consider other larger decorations like a banner, or garland, etc.  They take up lots of visual space, are when the room is full and can reinforce the colour scheme. A brightly coloured table cloth also takes up a lot of visual space and communicates “Hey!  I decorated!”  A large banner or sign that is seen right when someone walks in says “Hello! This is the party!”  Consider: how much visual space will this take up? and will it be seen when this room is full of people (eye-height or higher).

(I made this garland by taking the flowers off of dollar store fake flowers and connecting them with dots of glue from a glue gun.) 

Getting caught up on tiny things like coasters, or decorations on the back of a chair, or decorating out-of-the-way spots (like the bathroom?) can be way too much labour for not enough impact.

An exception to this is if there’s a small detail that everyone will get to experience.  For example, a great cake or cupcakes will be seen and experienced by everyone.  Or a small treat bag that everyone goes home with will be remembered.  For M’s party I was shaking my head at myself as I cut out paper and glued them to each individual drinking cup.  Surely it would be a silly, disposable detail.  But everyone has a drink at a party, right?  Everyone got to pick if they wanted a Buzz cup or an alien cup, and it turned out to be a pretty big hit - noticed and enjoyed by all.

(I cut the pieces out of paper and used a glue stick and tape to attach to the outside of the cup.  Make sure you leave room around the top of the cup so that people can drink out of it.)

3.  STICK TO A COLOUR SCHEME.

This one connects to the last point.  Repetition of 1-3 colours ties the decorations together and emphasizes what you’ve done.  The eye will pick up on all of the things that match and create an overall impression of what’s been done.  With L’s party it was the colour of tea roses: yellow, oranges, and warm soft pinks.  

(The ombre rose votives in the top righthand picture were made by covering plain glass votive holders from the dollar store with multiple petal-shaped pieces of tissue paper.  Just be sure that the petals don’t go over the lip of the glass, or they’ll be singed.  Or start a fire.  Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.)

With M’s it was Buzz Lightyear’s colours: light green, purple, and white (with navy blue as a neutral background).  Just matching your plates, napkins, balloons, or table cloths will look sharp and pulled together.  If you don’t have one of those things matching, just use a neutral (like white) and downplay its impact.

This takes no DIY/crafty skills whatsoever.  All you gotta’ do is match stuff up, and it looks sharp.

4. CREATE A FOCAL POINT.

Just like a living room needs a fireplace, or a credenza, or a large window or piece of art to build around, so too a party needs a main focus.  This helps create the centre of the party, but also it concentrates your decorating so that its not spread all over the place.  Logical focal points may include a table for all of the food and drinks, or a special chair for the birthday kid, or an existing focal point in your home (like a fireplace mantel.)  Place a lot of your decorations in that main place and they’ll have bigger impact together (and draw attention away from less-decorated areas).

(The candy roses took the most work, so I made sure they were on display to be enjoyed!)

5. PICK ONE BIG PROJECT.

This one’s hard for me, because I end up with so many ideas.  And sometimes I end up with a couple smaller projects too.  But pick one main special thing to focus attention and energy on and then make sure everything else is simple, store-bought, or already owned so that you don’t have to slave over every detail.

If you have a project that will take a while (the cups at M’s party, or the Starburst roses at L’s) start a couple weeks ahead and store it so that you don’t even need to think about it right before the party (when you’ll need to be focusing on things like food prep or cleaning your house.)

You don’t have to DIY either - like I said, balloons and streamers go a LOOONG way.  

6. DECORATE FOR THE DAY

For M’s party he “helped” me decorate the morning of his party and we had so much fun.  The decorations for his party became part of his excitement.  I think another time it would be fun to decorate the night before so that the child wakes up to a decorated house.  That way your work is appreciated for more time and is done well in advance.

(My son asked for blueberry pie for his birthday)

7. DELEGATE AND SIMPLIFY

If you can, look to people around you for help pulling together a party.  Maybe you have older children who would love to help create some of the decor.  Maybe you have a friend who wouldn’t mind an evening of tying ribbons while you chat and drink coffee.  Maybe there’s an aunty who bakes great cupcakes.  Even consider the services of stores and businesses (for example we bought our pizzas from a grocery store - WAY cheaper.  AND we discovered that if we put in our order a day ahead they’d also bake them for us in their large ovens and we just had to pick them up!)

One thing I’ve done that makes life simpler is having the party off site.  We had M’s party last year on my parents’ deck.  L’s party was at my inlaw’s house this year.  This eliminates the need to have your house clean for party time!  Maybe you don’t have family close by like I do, but consider having a party in a park where everyone can meet and you don’t need to ensure your toilet is scrubbed. 

Any of you have some ideas of how to simplify/organize/have fun with children’s birthday parties?

Last week a dear friend of mine got married.

I had the delight of being a bridesmaid, and my Little M had the big task of ring bearer.  It was a quickly-planned wedding (about two months?)  Yet it was pulled off beautifully and made perfect by the warm sunshine the Lord gave that day.  I thought I’d share a few pictures I managed to snap during the reception on my phone.

(The details, in order of importance.)

(The scheme was based on “burlap and lace”)

(Recognize my settee?  It was a cozy little love seat for the bride and groom)

(The blanket on the loveseat was given to the bride’s mother by her mother for her wedding.  So special.)

(The reception featured a number of talented friends and family playing music.  The Hutchisons are pictured here, and I could listen to them all day.)

(And how often do you get to roast marshmallows for a s’mores bar in a bridesmaid dress?  Not often, my friends.)

(Kids found the play tent downright magical: colouring, dress up clothes, games, swords and fairy wands…)

(My sweet little fairy)

(Croquet, bocce, badminton… people stayed long and played together.)
 

(Don’t you love the way the sun shines on a perfect autumn day?)

(A lemonade/cider stand built by the bride’s father for the day.  The bride and I gathered the old wood ourselves.  It was totally worth the tetanus shot I needed.  No, seriously.)

(The stunning bride.)

It was such a beautiful, fun, blessed day.  But even after a good day like this…

…sometimes a girl’s just gotta’ climb into a nice warm bath. ;)

Designer Robert Couturier, Photographer William Abranowicz, featured in Elle Decor

I shouldn’t have done it.  But I went looking for chairs in the online used ads last night, and there was a veritable treasure trove!  It had me pining for some great chairs.  Most would need to be taken to a real-deal upholsterer though.  And, oh yeah, I have no need (and no space!) for new chairs.  But let’s dream together, shall we?

First, there were a whole bunch of Louis-style chairs for about $75 each.  It’s more than I paid for my other two, but it’s not bad.  Only these two are left unsold, and they’re asking $100 per chair. Meh.

 But for a while there last night (when there were 3 other similar chairs for sale) I was imagining having a full set and using them as dining chairs…

(From An Angel at my Table)

(Design by Samantha Pynn, Photography by Virginia MacDonald, via Decorpad)

I’m a sucker for this style of feminine wing chair.  This one is $50.

I’d have a tough time deciding what to do with a chair like this… Probably lose the tufting and use some pretty patterned fabric like this floral one here:

(Design by Amanda Brooks, via Garance Dore)

…Or go with something classic and simple like a pale grey or cream linen:

(Photography by Stacey Brandford, Design by Sarah Richardson Design, via House & Home)

…Or a cool graphic tartan that juxtaposes the curvy feminine lines:

(Design by Summer Thornton, via Chicago Home & Garden)

And how about this super cool boxy chair?  Not exactly my style, but a good chair nonetheless.  And only $20!!!

It feels really modern to me, but similar chairs look lovely in this traditional home:

(Photography by Phil Crozier, Design by McIntyre Bills, via House and Home)

How cool would it be in a masculine grey tweedy/herringbone fabric?  

(Design by Sarah Richardson, Photography by Stacey Brandford, via Globe and Mail)

…Though this navy velvet is tempting too:

(Mercer tufted club chair from Canvas Home)

And these chairs are not for everyone… (They look like something Emily Henderson might pick out.)  But I love their unique shape. $60 for the pair, but since they’re probably an acquired taste, I’m sure I could get them cheaper.

They seem like they’d be so cozy to curl up in.

(Design by Ashley Whittaker, featured in House Beautiful)

I’d maybe lose the tufting on the back (or maybe not?), and probably the skirt, and go with a navy or charcoal velvet. to simplify them a bit.  

(Design by Emily Henderson)

Or since I’m totally dreaming, some worn butterscotch leather.  Yes.

And the backs could look really cool with some nailhead detail. Yes. Yes.

(Design by Eric Magnussen, photography by Raúl Candales, via Elle Decor Espana) - This is obviously a totally different piece of furniture… but you get the vibe.

And while we’re in that funky/trendy mode, How about this hanging wicker chair?  So retro.  But so fun.  

Such a cool beachy vibe, too:

(Design by Emily Henderson)

(Home of Ione Skye featured in Domino Magazine, via Flickr)

But $300?  Not.  Ever.  Happening.

And that’s it for my imaginary online shopping spree.  Well, for chairs, anyways.

Is it just me, or have ginger jars been everywhere lately?  They’re totally classic and traditional - so they’re nothing new (well, not since ancient China, anyways).  But I’ve seen them a lot lately; they were all over this month’s Lonny Mag:

They’re pretty, and interesting.  And I really like it when they’re juxtaposed against some modern elements.

So when I found this creamy-peachy-beigey lamp at Value Village I noticed it looked like some of the hexagonal ginger jars I’ve seen (and the top looked like the domed lid of a ginger jar).

(Ginger jar above from Ruby Lane)

And I wanted to recreate the look of ginger jar lamps I’d seen, like this lovely Ralph Lauren one:

All I used was some spray paint, a blue Sharpie marker, and some patience!

I started by taking off the price tag.  Side note: this is one of those pet peeves I have where the rage I feel for such an annoyance is completely unproportional to the actual amount of inconvenience.  But seriously.  I hate price sticker goo!  There is, however, a way to remove it: rub canola oil on it, and scrape it off with an old gift card (or some other plastic scraping device.)  Just keep rubbing the oil in and scraping it off, and it’ll be shiny and new in a couple minutes.

I prepped the lamp for spray painting by covering the cord, harp, and bulb area with tin foil (it doesn’t come loose like painter’s tape).  I sprayed the lamp with a primer, then a semigloss white. (I chose semigloss white because that’s what I had in my paint stash.  You could use a gloss, but you may have to be extra careful about not smudging the marker.)

While the paint cured I spent some time studying ginger jars - what motifs/designs/patterns are common?  What do I like?  And I drew out some possible designs for my lamp.

After the paint was fully dry (like, a couple days later), I lightly drew on the main shapes of my design with pencil.

Tip: Try to keep your pencil lines to just map out the basic shapes of the design (not the intricate designs), because you don’t want to be erasing a ton later (it takes time to do all that erasing and you have to be careful about streaking the marker ink.)

Then I used my blue Sharpie to draw on the main shapes of the design, drawing the same thing on each side.

At this point go back and erase your pencil lines.

A few things to consider…

… for the ‘type A’ personalities: Don’t get too hung up on making everything precisely identical.  Repeat the same design around your lamp, but if things are slightly crooked or different I think it is actually the right look - more like an antique that would have been made by hand, and less like it is mass produced.

…if you’re working with a lamp with rounded sides it may be harder to create symmetrical designs, so maybe plan something that is more curving and unsymmetrical - like vines, trees, dragons, etc.

After the main shapes were on the vase I just kept adding layers of design (while the kids napped and I was watching a good chick flick).  Every now and then give yourself a break to let the ink dry a bit (so you don’t end up streaking and smudging it) and also to study the design and see what you need to add.

Here are some pictures of the stages (this was done at different times often day, so forgive some of the poor lighting.)

It’s obviously not a DIY for everyone - but I LOVE doodling, so I really enjoyed doing it.  And you don’t have to stick to a traditional ginger jar look either - you could do all sorts of doodles on any lamp, and I think it could look really great!  Here’s a close up of some of the design:

And here’s my finished lamp:

(And do you like the painting?  I commissioned it from an artist I love.  He’s two.  Ha ha!  I specifically asked my son to paint me a picture with blue and orange.)

There you go!  My DIY ginger jar lamp.

Design by Grant K. Gibson

Marika Meyer Interiors via Decorpad

From The Love of a House

Ashley Whittaker Design via Decorpad

Design by Barclay Butera, photograph by James Carriere for Traditional Home